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[02/26/16 - 11:26 PM]
Development Update: Friday, February 26
By The Futon Critic Staff (TFC)

LOS ANGELES (thefutoncritic.com) -- The latest development news, culled from recent wire reports:

Looking to keep track of all the various projects in development? Click here to visit our signature "Devwatch" section. There visitors can view our listings by network, genre, studio and even development stage (ordered to pilot, cast-contingent, script, etc.). It's updated every day!


CHARITY CASE (FOX/ABCS/20th; W: Robert Padnick; D: James Griffiths) - Isiah Whitlock, Jr. and Dan Gill has both signed onto the Courteney Cox-led comedy pilot, about Hailey (Cox) who inherits her late billionaire husband's charity and quickly finds that changing the world is far less glamorous than she had imagined. Whitlock will play Ronald, "Hailey's stoic and loyal No. 2, a hard-working, diplomatic fellow always ready with a supportive word"; while Gill is set as Mark, "a young, cynical, smart-ass program officer for the Waller Foundation (the philanthropic organization headed by Hailey)." (Deadline.com)


CRUEL INTENTIONS (NBC/Sony; W: Jordan Ross, Lindsey Rosin & Roger Kumble; D: Roger Kumble) - Nathalie Kelley ("UnReal") is the latest to be cast in the drama pilot, a small screen revival of the 1999 cult feature about Bash Casey (Taylor John Smith), the son of Sebastian Valmont (Ryan Phillippe) and Annette Hargrove (Reese Witherspoon), who is introduced to a world of sex, money, power and corruption he never could have imagined after discovering his late father's legacy in a hidden journal. She's on board as Carmen, "the stunning and brilliant chief of staff to Kathryn (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and her husband Pascal." (Deadline.com)


DREW (CBS/CTS; W: Joan Rater & Tony Phelan; D: James Strong) - Vanessa Ferlito ("Graceland") has signed onto the drama pilot, a contemporary take on Edward Stratemeyer's iconic literary character, now in her 30s, who is a detective for the NYPD where she investigates and solves crimes using her uncanny observational skills, all while navigating the complexities of life in a modern world. She'll play Georgia "George" Fayne, "an NYPD homicide detective and Nancy's former partner on the force who has an innate ability to put other people at ease." (Deadline.com)


FREQUENCY (The CW/WBT; W: Jeremy Carver; D: TBA) - Lenny Jacobson ("Big Time in Hollywood, FL") has joined the cast of the feature-turned-drama pilot, which centers on Raimy (Peyton List), a female police detective in 2016 who discovers that she is able to speak via a ham radio with her estranged father, Frank Sullivan (Riley Smith), also a detective, who died in 1996. He'll play Gordo, "Raimy's next-door neighbor and lifelong friend; he grows deeply concerned for her as she tries to prevent a long-ago tragedy." (Deadline.com)


INFAMOUS, THE (A&E/A+E; W: Joshua Zetumer; D: Anthony Hemingway) - Newcomer Michelle Mitchenor has been cast in the pilot, a drama set against real events in turbulent 1990s Los Angeles leading up to the LA Riots, and centers on two complicated men on a collision course: an ambitious reformed gangster poised to break out of South Central and the LAPD detective hell-bent on taking him down. She'll play Eva Adams in the project. Additionally, John Legend, Mike Jackson and Ty Stiklorius of Get Lifted Film Co. have been tapped as executive producers. (Deadline.com)


KICKER, THE (CBS/Universal; W: Jack Burditt; D: TBA) - David Spade ("Rules of Engagement") has joined the cast of the multi-camera comedy pilot, about Daryl Thorkelsonan (Geoff Stults), an oddball athlete who drives family, friends and strangers bonkers after he unexpectedly finds himself retired. He'll play Russ Thorkelson, "Daryl's brother and sports agent who spends most of his time doing damage control while Daryl says something else controversial. Though he's eternally stressed, Russ loves his brother more than anything for giving him a career opportunity in the sports world." (Deadline.com)


MODEL WOMAN (ABC/TriStar; W: Helen Childress; D: Richard Shepard) - Chris Mason (Vampire Academy) is the latest addition to the drama pilot, set in the late 1970's during the notorious Model Wars and centers on Bertie Geiss, a tempestuous matriarch and uncompromising businesswoman at the helm of an internationally renowned modeling agency. He'll play Elsdon Geiss, "Bertie and Miller's youngest son. He's smart, interesting and perceptive and already has proved that he has the knack for finding new faces." (Deadline.com)


MY TIME/YOUR TIME (CBS/CTS/Sony; W: Hilary Winston; D: Pamela Fryman) - Utkarsh Ambudkar ("The Mindy Project") has scored a role on the Carter Bays and Craig Thomas-produced comedy pilot, which chronicles the relationship of a young couple, Marla (Jane Levy) and Wade (Nicholas Braun), as they begin dating long distance. He'll play Jay, "Wade's friend and co-worker who looks like a slacker/surfer dude on the surface but is secretly ambitious." (Deadline.com)


PITCH (FOX/20th; W: Dan Fogelman & Rick Singer; D: Paris Barclay) - Mark Consuelos ("Kingdom") has signed onto the drama pilot, about Ginny Baker (Kylie Bunbury), a young female pitcher who defies the odds when she becomes the first woman to play in the major leagues as part of the San Diego Padres. He'll play Oscar, "the team's general manager and president; a former player who hopes to make Ginny feel welcome and does his part to handle the extraordinary situation in which he finds himself in." (THR.com)


PLEASE DON'T GO (ABC/ABCS; W: Meaghan Oppenheimer; D: TBA) - T.R. Knight ("Grey's Anatomy") is the first to sign onto the drama pilot, about the personal and professional life of Gemma, a ruthless divorce attorney in Dallas, which begins to unravel when her emotionally damaged, love-addicted sister resurfaces triggering self-destructive tendencies and exposing long-hidden family secrets. He'll play Mark, "Gemma's work nemesis who is competing with her for the same position. On the outside he's a jolly and likable guy, but really he's a calculated backstabber you don't see coming." Oppenheimer co-executive produces. (Deadline.com)


RIVERDALE (The CW/WBT; W: Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa; D: TBA) - Camila Mendes has booked a principal role on the drama pilot, a bold, subversive take on Archie (K.J. Apa), Betty (Lili Reinhart), Veronica and their friends from the comics, exploring the surreality of small-town life as well as the darkness and weirdness bubbling beneath Riverdale's wholesome facade. She's set as "the intelligent and confident Veronica Lodge, a silver-tongued high school sophomore who returns to Riverdale from New York, eager to reinvent herself after a scandal involving her father." (Deadline.com)


TIME (NBC/Sony; W: Eric Kripke & Shawn Ryan; D: Neil Marshall) - Claudia Doumit ("Scandal") has booked a role on the drama pilot, about an unlikely trio traveling through time to battle unknown criminals in order to protect history as we know it. She's set as punky-nerd Jiya in the project, which also stars Abigail Spencer. (Deadline.com)


TOAST (ABC/ABCS; W: Greg Grunberg & Scott Foley; D: Gail Mancuso) - Tessa Ferrer ("Grey's Anatomy") has joined the cast of the multi-camera comedy, about engaged couple Max and Paige who, over their wedding rehearsal dinner, have their eclectic family and friends give toasts recalling anecdotes about the couple - but flashbacks reveal that the toasts don't always get it right. She'll play Julie, a Texas tomboy who's up for anything. (TVLine.com)


TRAINING DAY (CBS/WBT; W: Will Beall; D: Danny Cannon) - Bill Paxton ("Texas Rising") has booked a lead role on the drama pilot, a reimagining of the feature of the same name about "an idealistic young African-American police officer, Kyle Craig, is appointed to an elite squad of the LAPD where he is partnered with seasoned, morally ambiguous detective Frank Rourke." He'll play the latter character, who's detailed as "a veteran LAPD cop who heads up the Special Investigation Section, a unit that goes after the worst of the worst - lives by the law of the jungle and believes that real courage is the will to chase the bad guys where the law won't." (Deadline.com)


VLAD (NBC/WBT; W: Adam Sztykiel & Vladimir Caamaño; D: TBA) - Maria Canals-Barrera has joined the cast of the multi-camera comedy pilot, inspired by comedian Vladimir Caamaño's real-life family dynamic living with his Dominican father and older brother in the Bronx. She'll play Andrea, "Vlad's high-energy mom who loves everything about the U.S." (Deadline.com)


AND IN OTHER NEWS... - USA has axed its drama "Satisfaction" while creator Sean Jablonski has already moved on to Netflix's "Gypsy" as an executive producer and co-showrunner (THR.com); Sam Taylor-Johnson will direct and executive produce the first two episodes of the aforementioned "Gypsy" (Deadline.com); Emerson Brooks is bound for three episodes of "The Last Ship" as "the highly respected and by-the-book Captain of a US Navy Ship that comes into conflict with Commander Tom Chandler (Eric Dane) and his team" (Deadline.com); Erin Cummings has been cast in AMC's "Feed the Beast" as Marisa Bruno, "a whip-smart defense attorney to Patras (Jim Sturgess)" (Deadline.com);

Nicholas Meyer has signed onto the new "Star Trek" series at CBS as an executive producer (Deadline.com); Diana Son is set as executive producer and co-showrunner of Netflix's "13 Reasons Why" (Deadline.com); Rita Moreno and Casey Wilson will both appear in the March 17 episode of "Grey's Anatomy" (THR.com); Tristin Mays will recur on "Switched at Birth" as college student Ally (TVLine.com); and Richard Schiff will guest on "Mom" as "a co-worker of Allison Janney's Bonnie in a May episode" (TVLine.com).






  [february 2016]  
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· 13 REASONS WHY (NETFLIX)
· BIG TIME IN HOLLYWOOD, FL (COMEDY CENTRAL)
· BROKEN (ABC)
· CHARITY CASE (FOX)
· CRUEL INTENTIONS (NBC)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· DREW (CBS)
· FEED THE BEAST (AMC)
· FREQUENCY (CW)
· GRACELAND (USA)
· GREY'S ANATOMY (ABC)
· GYPSY (NETFLIX)
· INFAMOUS, THE (A AND E)
· KICKER, THE (CBS)
· KINGDOM (AUDIENCE)
· LAST SHIP, THE (TNT)
· MINDY PROJECT, THE (HULU)
· MODEL WOMAN (ABC)
· MOM (CBS)
· MY TIME/YOUR TIME (CBS)
· PITCH (FOX)
· RIVERDALE (CW)
· RULES OF ENGAGEMENT (CBS)
· SATISFACTION (USA)
· SCANDAL (ABC)
· STAR TREK: DISCOVERY (PARAMOUNT PLUS)
· SWITCHED AT BIRTH (FREEFORM)
· TEXAS RISING (HISTORY)
· TIMELESS (NBC)
· TOAST (ABC)
· TRAINING DAY (CBS)
· UNREAL (HULU)
· VLAD (NBC)





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Discovery Channel March Programming Highlights
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